(Bloomberg) -- Enbridge Inc. invited indigenous communities in Canada to discuss a financial partnership similar to an earlier C$1.12 billion ($809 million) sale of a stake in some of its pipelines to such groups.
The pipeline company is hosting a meeting in Edmonton, Alberta, on Nov. 20 to discuss the potential deal, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg. Details on the assets involved in the potential deal weren’t provided in the letter, which was signed by Colin Gruending, Enbridge’s president of liquids pipelines.
Enbridge and other Canadian energy companies have increasingly been partnering with Indigenous communities on operations that affect their land, helping improve relations with the groups and head off environmental and legal opposition. Enbridge in 2022 agreed to sell a 12% stake in seven pipelines in Alberta to First Nations and Métis communities in a deal it called “Project Rocket.”
“After the success of ‘Project Rocket’ — our first financial partnership with 23 indigenous nations in Northern Alberta in the fall of 2022 — we are eager to explore new mutually beneficial financial partnerships with other indigenous nations,” Gruending said in the letter.
Enbridge didn’t confirm or deny the meeting, but said in an emailed statement that it “regularly engages with more than 350 Indigenous communities throughout the continent.”
“We see first-hand the value of engaging Indigenous groups as economic partners and believe Indigenous economic partnerships are an important part of advancing economic reconciliation,” the company said. “Enbridge is committed to ensuring Indigenous groups are full participants in the energy sector and we look forward to more Indigenous economic partnerships in the future, but we have nothing to announce at this time.”
The company is developing a plan that won’t require any up-front cash from the communities and will involve 100% non-recourse debt financing, requiring support from indigenous loan guarantee programs across Canada. Enbridge will provide C$15,000 in funding to cover groups’ time and expenses for participating in the meeting.
Rival pipeline operator TC Energy Corp. announced in July that it would sell a 5.3% stake in its NGTL System and Foothills Pipeline assets to a consortium including as many as 72 Indigenous communities in western Canada. That deal, which was expected to close in the third quarter, has been on hold after a bond deal to finance the transaction failed to close.
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